Thanksgiving Party Games: Thanksgiving Fun for Kids & Adults, Too

Turkey, movies, football, Thanksgiving party games every family has its own Thanksgiving traditions and customs. And whether you like to play a new board game with your in-laws every year or are looking for ways to keep a bigger-than-usual crowd entertained this year, you've come to the right place.

Themed Thanksgiving Party Games

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to bring your inner child out to play and to revel in that warm and happy Thanksgiving atmosphere. And to distract you from the tantalizing scent of a roasting turkey! However, coming up with theme-oriented Thanksgiving party games isn't always as simple as it seems.

Read on for some of my favorite Thanksgiving-themed party games for people of any age. Want to see a little more? I've also got plenty more party games here. Add a turkey or a pilgrim's hat to any game and you've got a Thanksgiving theme.

Thanksgiving Fun for Kids

Thanksgiving games for children won't just help keep any hungry kids out of the kitchen and out from under-foot it'll also make the day a blast for them. Want to play something fun with the kids? Read on for some fun Thanksgiving party games for kids.

Hide and Gobble Thanksgiving Party Game

How to Play: There's nothing quite so much fun as this turkey-themed version of hide and seek. In this case two people will be elected to be "it". Both kids cover their eyes and stand against the wall while the rest of the children hide paper turkeys around the house. The children hiding the turkeys have to be told to keep them within reach of their playmates, and to avoid any potentially dangerous hiding spots (like under the kitchen sink where chemicals get stored). The winner is the child who finds the most turkeys. You might even want to have a goodie bag from which he or she can choose a prize.

Note that it's good if the two children who are "it" are close enough in ages to make the hunting fair.

Even More Fun: Want to make this Thanksgiving party game into an all-morning thing? Make it a Thanksgiving craft project, too. Get together craft materials and let the kids spend an hour or so making their own turkeys from construction paper, glitter, pipe cleaners, and puffballs before hiding them. They'll have fun, and they'll have something to take home as a prize, too.

Thanksgiving Book Scavenger Hunt

How to Play: This next game is free, fun, and really easy. Sometime before Thanksgiving, stop by the library and check out a few books on Thanksgiving topics (or whatever topic you like, really). Give the kids a list of images (turkey, cornucopia, etc.) they need to find in the books, and separate them into teams. They'll need to write down where they found what image in what book. The team that finds all of their images first wins.

Eat Off Your Own Thanksgiving Craft Project.

How to Do It: This isn't really a Thanksgiving party game, but an idea for giving the kids something fun to do while they wait to eat. Purchase some craft placemats (or just use large pieces of construction paper or posterboard), get a pile of magazines and fun craft items, and let children use images, glitter, etc. to decorate their own mat for the dinner table!

Thanksgiving Party Games for the Whole Family

In thinking about Thanksgiving party games it's good to try to find some that can easily be adapted for either children or adults. That way, you can play with the whole family if you like, or use the Thanksgiving party game for a group of adult friends and family. Sure, the tone of the game may change whether it's all ages or adult but the rules will be the same.

When You're Short on Time: If you feel like buying a game, the one below (available at the store "Expressions") is elegant looking, simple, and fun. It's also something you can keep and look at again for years to come. But keep in mind that everything in this Thanksgiving party game is something you could also do yourself with a little time and effort.

The Thanksgiving Memory Game

How to Play: This Thanksgiving party game is ultra simple. But it's a wonderful way to evoke the spirit of Thanksgiving and have a lot of fun doing it. First, everyone sits in a circle. Starting with the host or hostess an open ended sentence gets recited. Examples include:

Last Thanksgiving I _______________ (fill in the black with an activity such as "visited friends").

My favorite Thanksgiving food is ___________.

The Macy's Parade has a ________ balloon.

Each person repeats the same sentence but has to add a new ending (no answer can be repeated twice). So if person 1 says, last Thanksgiving I visited friends person 2 might say, last thanksgiving I visited friends and washed the car. The host or hostess can keep a running list of the additions to the sentence so that when a person forgets a part they're out of the game. Continue until only one child or adult remains. Sounds more difficult than it is and can get pretty funny (and sometimes a little naughty) when played with a group of adults.

Thanksgiving Bingo

How to Play: Another Thanksgiving party game suitable for children and adults alike is Thanksgiving Bingo. For your Bingo board you're going to use the word FEAST instead of Bingo. The numbered element on the board can remain the same (note that you can find some pre-made numbered boards on the internet. Then all you have to do is tape the letters F E A S T over B I N G O, or use your favorite photo-editing software to make the correction). The host or hostess will simply have to remember that B is now F when calling the numbers for the game.

HINT: play this just before serving dinner so that the person calling FEAST is actually announcing dinner!

Family History Thanksgiving Party Game

Finally, since Thanksgiving is a family-oriented holiday, how about considering Thanksgiving party games with a family theme? One of my favorite examples is the Family History Party Game.

How to Play: To play this, have everyone attending dinner bring some family pictures from various years. Mix them all together.
Now, each person in turn closes their eyes and randomly picks out one picture and puts it on the table telling who is in the picture and what was happening as well as an estimated year. The next person to go does the same thing, but when they put the picture down it should reflect the order of events (i.e. before or after the first image). Continue until you run out of pictures. When you're done you'll have something akin to a family tree and will have a great time re-telling all the stories that go with those snapshot memories.

Make it More Fun: Want to change it up a little and make this game more difficult? Toss in some pictures that have nothing to do with family. Watching people try to come up with that connection can be a ton of fun. And the whole thing will lead to a lot of sharing and memories and laughter. I know, I know it sounds a little mushy when I put it like that, but that's what Thanksgiving's about, right?

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